


You're a Lifesaver

by anonymousstoryperson



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Gen, Platonic Kisses, Tony is everyones favourite, everyone lives at Avengers Tower, we all love tony, your favourite is a tony stan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-14 09:36:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16490129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousstoryperson/pseuds/anonymousstoryperson
Summary: Tony tends to show affection when comfortable around people.The other Avengers find this to be the opposite of a problem.





	You're a Lifesaver

It took a few months for Tony to be comfortable with people in his Tower. Sure, the lower floors were always brimming with staff- the PR and Legal team liked to stay close, just in case of another weekly incident- but on Tony's private floor he was used to it being just that- private. It was what he was used to. Ever since a young age he had grown accustomed to open spaces with very few people- the mansion, with one or two nannies, his Malibu home, when Pepper was still his assistant, with whoever he brought home, and then the tower, with Pepper, and Rhodey if he was lucky. So having a team so close by took some adjusting.

But eventually, he got used to seeing Steve take charge of the kitchen every Thursday, or Bruce in the corner of the workshop with a thesis in one hand and tea in the other. Seeing Clint's silhouette through the vents or Natasha stalking through the corridors became commonplace. Even Thor, dropping in every so often after realm-hopping adventures, barely made him jump anymore when he landed on the landing pad without warning. 

So he was a lot more comfortable with his team now, which was good. Still, he probably should have mentioned to them what he was like when he was comfortable with people.

The first time it happened, he had just emerged from a 30-hour workshop binge. Which was one of his shorter binges, he could admit, but it had followed an afternoon with Stark Industries' R&D team and a minor forest fire a few states away he had to take care of, so he was still dead on his feet when he stumbled into what had become more of a common room for the lot of them. The rest of the team was there, bar Thor, who was off-world. Bruce was behind the island in the kitchen, making tea, and everyone else was lounging on the sofas. 

Bruce had noticed Tony's swaying stumble from the elevator and silently held out a newly-made mug of coffee, a small grin on his face. The rest of the team watched in amusement, too, now used to the billionaire's workshop habits.

Eyes barely open, almost navigating by sense of smell alone, Tony staggered over and grasped the mug in both hands before taking several large gulps, Adam's Apple working furiously as he did so. When he finally came up for breath, he placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder without looking and absently placed a small kiss into the scientist's curls.

"You're a lifesaver, green bean." he mumbled, oblivious to the silent stares around him as he wrapped both hands around the mug again and left for the elevator, still dragging his feet. Bruce, completely bewildered, could only turn to the others. "That just happened, right? I mean, that wasn't just a weird fever dream?"

"Guess we all know who Tony's favourite is." Clint grinned.

Bruce could only give a stunned smile in return. He knew Tony was one of the few people who, somehow, had absolutely no fear of the Hulk. That he had known from their first meeting on the Helicarrier. But this, being so comfortable with him like this...

If this was favouritism, he supposed it didn't do any harm.

Except it wasn't favouritism, they learned fairly quickly. It was just Tony being Tony.

Natasha discovered this at the next Movie Night. She was already comfortable in the seat she had claimed weeks ago, an armchair that kept all silent entrances within her peripheral vision. This didn't include the elevator, but the noise it made when it opened alerted her enough to put her a little more at ease with having it behind her. 

Such a noise alerted her to someone entering the floor, and the lightness of the footfalls told her it was Tony. "Hey, you're in luck." she told him without turning around, "I managed to get Clint to choose something other than Terminator this time around." 

Clint's indignation at the comment went ignored in favour of the quiet, "Oh thank God." from Tony, who immediately came up and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. He didn't notice her surprise, which she kept hidden, as he continued, "I don't even need an eidetic memory to quote that movie off by heart by now- what are we actually watching?"

She let Clint answer as she analysed the interaction. It apparently wasn't a show of favouritism- it wasn't limited to one of them, or to grand gestures. The man seemed to offer kisses the same way others would offer a pat on the back. Was this simply an overly tactile nature on his part?

If it was, she decided she didn't mind. 

Her assumption seemed to be correct, the team noticed, as time went on. And the team, this rag-tag group of emotionally dysfunctional morons, started to hoard it like gold dust. None of them were sure when. Maybe it was Clint's smug look when he received two in the same week. Maybe it was the not so subtle acknowledgement that everyone was keeping a tally. Maybe it was when they realised that Steve was making the group meals a lot for often, with the result of Tony praising it in thankful Italian and pecking him on the cheek when it was especially good. Maybe it was when Thor finally received one after returning to the Tower with a small amount of Uru for Tony to study. When he had learned the significance, he had punched through a wall in excitement.

Such affection was something most of them had learned to live without for a while now. Tony himself was unused to such small, meaningful gestures that didn't come with a price tag of some description. But perhaps this was a tell that they didn't have to learn to live without it.


End file.
